Talk:Rio Ferdinand

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Ethnicity[edit]

Where are his parents born? Are they of Trinidadian decent? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.24.233.251 (talk • contribs)

lol I was about to ask the same thing IS he ethnically English? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Trelew Girl (talk • contribs)

Merked[edit]

I'm fairly sure this phrase was not coined by Rio, as I've heard it used many times by Halo players before the program came out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anthony Florister (talk • contribs)

Vandalism[edit]

Seems to be a fair bit of vandalism (perhaps by angry Liverpool fans :P) going on recently. I wonder if the page should be protected? Whilding87 11:06, 26 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed. And I notice that for a man with a long list of medals and trophies, including multiple PL titles and a Champion's League Winner's medal, he currently has "London Youth Games Hall of Fame: 2010 inductee" as the sole entry in his Honours list. With his autobiography just released one must certainly expect further vandalism unfortunately, such is the juvenile nature of football fans. It should certainly be properly updated and locked, I think. — Preceding unsigned comment added by El Badboy! (talk • contribs) 13:53, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Shevchenko lie[edit]

"also the premier league's second most expensive player after the arrival of Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea (whose transfer price was between £30 million to £56 million)"

This is absolute nonsense. Shevchenko's transfer fee is universally accepted as £30m (identitical to Rio's) - I have never once seen any firm figure in excess of £30m mentioned, and £56m is pure fantasy.

  • edit* I've just seen this nonsense repeated on Shevchenko's own page, comlete with a citation to a UEFA article which makes no mention of this fantasy figure. Take it down. It's pure fantasy. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 217.155.200.35 (talk • contribs).
Anyone can edit Wikipedia. However, I have removed it. The transfer should be greater than 30 million pounds (or, to beat Ferdinand, 31.72 million pounds, I suppose). x42bn6 Talk 23:19, 3 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Failed drugs test[edit]

From the wiki:

(he later took a test and it showed he had no drugs in his system, this was clearly of no relevance though as by the time this test had been taken, many substances could have left his system)

Is this actually true? From what I heard he took a test the next day, which would mean the substances could not have left his body? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 164.143.240.33 (talk) 16:05, 10 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

According to Rio's own biography he took the test the next day. It would indeed be astronomical odds if the first test would have indicated drugs and the later test did not. The comments in brackets "this was clearly of no relevance though as by the time this test had been taken, many substances could have left his system" is opinion and not fact. I propose it should be deleted unless proven.

"this was clearly of no relevance though as by the time this test had been taken, many substances could have left his system"

This sentence has no place in Wiki and is a flagrant breach of Wiki standards. Anti Manchester United football fans should take their petty quibbles elsewhere; Wikipedia is not a playground for their juvenile posturing and revisionism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by El Badboy! (talk • contribs) 13:57, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Height[edit]

6'5? I have his height on a number of sites as 1.90, or 1.89 (see google results here). Will change it to the generally accepted 6'2 and a big bit.--Koncorde 22:18, 23 August 2007 (

Change it to 6'2.5 (1.89/1.90). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Batachink (talk • contribs) 13:48, 10 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The confusion has been caused by the Man united site adding height and weight to player profiles which goal.com has subsequently copied. I'm not sure why he has been listed as 6'5 on the United website - I can only presume it's a mistake - as he has been listed as 189-190 his entire career, including on his england profile. He definitely isn't 6'5 though if you look at him next to other players in the team line up. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.51.186.110 (talk) 16:04, 19 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

He's noticably taller than 189cm listed Nemanja Vidic (http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/114499275/Manchester-United) so surely he shouldn't be listed as the same height? Maybe he's 195 in boots but he should be listed as what his club states. Carlos Tevez is listed here as 5'8" because that's what Man City say he is, but I'm only 5'7" and was slightly taller than Tevez when I met in him 2006.

You can't base an estimate of Rio's height on that image. The camera might be tilted, the ground he's standing on might be higher than the ground Vidic is standing on, any number of reasons. Most of the sources say he's 6'2" and he's definitely not 6'4". – PeeJay 14:06, 31 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Listed as 1.89 m on the BBC Sport and Premier League website, and as 1.91 m on the Sky Sports website. Taking an average gives a final value of 1.897 m (6'2 1/2") which, on observation, he CLEARLY is over. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.214.131.210 (talk) 00:19, 5 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

We can't base factual information on your observations. – PeeJay 16:59, 10 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Oh but you can base it on yours by rejecting information on the official Manchester United website. No problem. This is how Wikipedia loses credibility. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.217.88.161 (talk) 10:41, 11 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Les Ferdinand[edit]

...is his uncle, not his cousin. 82.46.190.172 (talk) 03:46, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No, he's his cousin.[1]Koncorde (talk) 21:00, 25 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Rewrite[edit]

I've begun to expand the article: making a summarised lead and describing his early life and youth team years. West Ham and Leeds sections need expansion — not to mention the fact that there's a loan to Bournemouth that the article doesn't have anything about. Sillyfolkboy (talk) 03:01, 6 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Business Ventures[edit]

Probably need to mention his forage into digital media since he has launched a new digital online magazine titled #5 after his shirt number which can be viewed at http://www.rioferdinand.com/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.220.93.140 (talk) 16:23, 23 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I added some detail on Rio's business relationships and charitable work as he is a public figure and so they should be included in his entry. Hopefully no-one else will object. —Preceding unsigned comment added by JaySorrels (talk • contribs) 11:22, 13 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I object to the changes you made. You've made it sound like an advert for Ferdinand's management agency. By all means mention his work with charity, but mentions of Chris Nathaniel and NVA Entertainment are not appropriate. – PeeJay 11:28, 13 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hey there PeeJay I understand your concerns and certainly did not intend to add anything that could be seen as an advert for anyone. However, I would argue that in an encyclopaedic reference about Rio it is worth including a couple of very small references to a major business partner and co-founder of his associated charity. It is an important relationship that has been referenced repeatedly in the press. Other pages refer to such relationships as they are a detail worth knowing about a public figure. Can we not find a form of phraseology that would be acceptable? (JaySorrels (talk) 19:07, 18 May 2010 (UTC)).[reply]

Link with Barcelona?[edit]

anyone have a citation for this? If not it should be deleted from the article. Ucl1986 (talk) 00:21, 6 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Incorrectly listed height, 10 April 2011[edit]

Please change Rio Ferdinand's height - which is incorrectly listed at 6'5"/195cm - to his official listed height of 6'2.5"/189cm. I have numerous official sources to back this up, unlike the one currently listed which does not show his height. Two of these are as listed:

http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~6068,00.html - Official Premier League site http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player/_/id/7825/rio-ferdinand?cc=5739 - ESPN, entirely accurate and verifiable based from numerous other sources.


ElSydd (talk) 00:04, 11 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done "ESPN is more accurate than Premier Leage", Really? I do not think so. Is ESPN a sub-division of his team? Do ESPN check their height and weight? Not done, no reliable source as the premiere leage or his football team exist. Tbhotch* ۩ ۞ 03:00, 11 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]


1. You just completely misquoted me. Perhaps you should focus on your reading abilities before attempting to act so condescending.

2. The 'official source', which is the alleged evidence for him being this height, does NOT give a listed height of 6'5", whereas dozens and dozens of others list him as between 6'2" and 6'3"

3. Look at him and David Beckham. Is there really a six inch different in height? Use your brain, or common sense. The original source that claimed he was 6'5" was the incorrect one on Wikipedia, which has caused several other sites to state this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ElSydd (talk • contribs)

Please keep your comments civil ElSydd. — Bility (talk) 17:45, 19 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Not done: I had a second look at the original source, and while the page I was looking at ([2]) didn't have his height, the sourced one ([3]) did. I think in this case the official team site is the best source for the information. — Bility (talk) 18:12, 19 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

OK maybe we can resolve this... add sources along with your signature to the sections below. violet/riga [talk] 20:10, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

And if anyone has Twitter then ask him on there! violet/riga [talk] 20:10, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I have Twitter, but I don't know what to say in 140 characters beside "Hello Mr. Ferdinand, I'm a Wikipedia editor and at the moment we are having a dispute on your height. Could you please say me what it is?" Tbhotch.™ Grammatically incorrect? Correct it! See terms and conditions. 20:40, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I just did ask him on Twitter. I have also asked a member of the ManUtd.com staff where the information came from, as I don't believe a figure of 195.5 centimetres can be sourced back to Ferdinand's medical examination. By the way, per massive consensus at WP:FOOTY, Goal.com is not a reliable source, so I have removed it from the list of sources. Furthermore, I never suggested that ManUtd.com is an unreliable source on the whole, only that someone has made a typo and inserted wrong information for Rio Ferdinand. All other heights on ManUtd.com can be corroborated by other reliable sources. – PeeJay 20:42, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I've restored the site as it is a corroborative source and a contribution by another editor, though I will accept your dismissal of it assuming that WP:FOOTY have agreed that. violet/riga [talk] 21:13, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

In the absence of confirmation from Rio himself (or other sources) I think we need to put this to bed. The evidence suggests that he is in fact 6'2" with the majority of sources giving that height. The fact that it is reported different on numerous usually reliable sources is quite surprising and I can understand how this has caused conflict. I accept the earlier mention of Synthesis but it certainly is true that, when standing next to each other, he is the same height as Vidic. I've restored the height with what I see as two of the best sources. violet/riga [talk] 14:43, 7 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

195.5cm? No way[edit]

I would like to know where this figure of 195.5cm came from. It's clearly not from Ferdinand's medical examination because if you look at him standing next to people like David Beckham (famously 6'0"), Ferdinand is only 2-3 inches taller. There is no way he is 6'5" tall. – PeeJay 20:29, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"Ferdinand cannot be 6'5 because Beckham is 6'0". Tbhotch.™ Grammatically incorrect? Correct it! See terms and conditions. 20:31, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Please just add your sources to the listings above, then we can look into it further. violet/riga [talk] 20:34, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've got no RS to add to this, but if he's 6 ft 5in, I'm a Patagonian squirrel called Shirley. And I hate nuts. --Dweller (talk) 14:47, 5 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ferdinand v Mirror Group Newspapers[edit]

Why has any reference to the widely reported case Ferdinand v Mirror Group Newspapers gone? Quickbeam44 (talk) 09:23, 8 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like it went out for a walk and did not come back in this edit on 26 November 2011. This has been added to the "See also" section, as it should be cross linked from somewhere in this article.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 09:47, 8 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Irish descent[edit]

The article has been added to the Category:English people of Irish descent category but nowhere in the article does it mention that he is of Irish descent, only that his father is from Saint Lucia. Is there any proof that he is of Irish descent? TonyStarks (talk) 04:24, 24 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

His mother is definitely white, and I believe she has some Irish descent, but it needs a source--MartinUK (talk) 11:02, 9 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed - I've removed it. It seems to be almost standard for this category tag to be added to articles on prominent English people on a speculative basis - i.e. slip it in, hope nobody picks up on it being unsourced, and in time it becomes an accepted fact, reported as such elsewhere based purely on the wikipedia page and thus provides "sources" that can be used to back it up. There seems to be a political motivation among some editors for claiming Irish ancestry for as many English people as possible. Shiresman (talk) 05:30, 28 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I believe her Irish ancestry is mentioned in Ferdinand's autobiography. When I get home to my copy, I'll re-add the info. – PeeJay 10:21, 28 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2002 allegations[edit]

Re this edit: Since I don't want to get into 3RR territory, it should be pointed out that Ferdinand never faced charges over the 2002 incident, so there are WP:BLPCRIME issues. There are also WP:NOTNEWSPAPER issues, as there were no long term consequences in this incident.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 07:26, 3 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Most expensive English player ever?[edit]

The article states that "As of May 2013, he remains the most expensive English player ever" Is this correct? Ferdinand moved from Leeds to Manchester United for 30 million But Andy Carroll moved from Newcastle United for 35 million. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.111.25.6 (talk) 23:43, 7 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Good spot, pretty sure this needs changing. If you take inflation into account he's still the most expensive, but we don't normally look at it that way.--MartinUK (talk) 10:59, 9 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Early Life reads like a profile from a teenage football magazine[edit]

The early life is very unencyclopaedic in its tone. A mixture of a 'lightish' newspaper article and teenage fanzine:

"Ferdinand enjoyed physical expression, taking part in not just football and gymnastics classes but drama, theatre and ballet too...revelled in the opportunity to perform before an audience...dreaming of turning professional and seeing new places.. in order to meet new friends and he settled in well, feeling his confidence growing...However, while the lessons surely improved his balance, it was professional football that he desired"

Someone should rewrite it removing the more emotive words such as 'revelled', 'dreaming', 'desired' etc.

Macgroover (talk) 01:53, 13 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 17 July 2014[edit]

Rio Ferdinand signed for Queens Park Rangers as a free agent on A one year Contract. ManUtd20RvP (talk) 20:29, 17 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. —Mr. Granger (talk · contribs) 02:43, 18 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Best defenders of generation[edit]

Should be labelled as such. Terry's page suggests he is one of the greatest of his generation. Rio was as good, if not better. Probably more highly rated worldwide. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.196.233.113 (talk) 02:49, 24 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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Was he married?[edit]

Under 'early life' it says that he never married the mother of his children, but further down the page it says that they did marry in 2009. The BBC refers to the early death of 'his wife' which suggests that they were indeed married. — Preceding unsigned comment added by PJCS (talk • contribs) 11:11, 7 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

They were married for god sake — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mosesbrett1967 (talk • contribs) 20:30, 10 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
You two clearly can't read. The article says that Ferdinand's parents never married. Ferdinand himself did indeed marry his wife. – PeeJay 17:47, 13 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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Semi-protected edit request on 10 November 2017[edit]

Rio's mother also passed away in autumn 2017 Mosesbrett1967 (talk) 20:29, 10 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

OK.  — Ammarpad (talk) 20:44, 10 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 11 December 2019[edit]

In the below section, please include this source: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/dark-side-of-rio-ferdinand-6965579.html

"At the age of 19 years and 8 days, Ferdinand earned his first full England cap as a substitute in a friendly against Cameroon on 15 November 1997, making him the youngest defender to play for England at the time (a record broken in 2006 by Micah Richards). Ferdinand would have made an even earlier debut in September had he not been charged with drink-driving in the build-up to England's 1998 World Cup qualifier against Moldova. Ferdinand was named in the squad for this game and was a likely starter; however, the public mourning for Princess Diana – whose chauffeur had been suspected of drink-driving – left Glenn Hoddle with little choice but to drop the teenager from the squad." December1233 (talk) 11:39, 11 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Interstellarity (talk) 00:03, 12 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 29 November 2022[edit]

Change "television pundit for BT Sport" to "television pundit for BT Sport and the BBC". He is on BBC right now for the World Cup. 2A00:23C8:7B09:FA01:5FD:DD41:9ADE:D2C9 (talk) 01:00, 29 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. RealAspects (talk) 11:19, 11 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Rio Ferdinand played 3 games in the League Cup for WHU 1999/00 not 4[edit]

I can't edit his Wiki page though, so I posted it here. West Ham United didn't even play 4 League Cup games that season, they had only 3 until they were knocked out. Sources:

https://www.weltfussball.at/teams/west-ham-united/2000/3/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999%E2%80%932000_West_Ham_United_F.C._season#cite_note-4 Ciro-Mertens (talk) 22:14, 15 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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